Roses
by Koganeiro
Summary: The color of roses can tell a lot. Toshiro X Ichigo
1. Lavender

I was bored... And looking up what rose colors mean (yes, indeed, I was THAT bored) and that popped into my head. And yes, there will be 'chapters', one for each color of rose.

Now, this is my first Bleach fan fiction, as well as my first shoenen-ai. So, prepare for crap MXM, people, as well as most likely OOC.

And the 'chapters' will most likely be fairly short, so if you like long chapters, here isn't the place for you.

Looking for constructive criticism, please.

Disclaimer: Isn't it obvious? If not, all Bleach characters, and plot, belongs to Tite Kubo.

--

One: Lavender

The lavender rose is a symbol of 'falling on love'.

--

Another horrid day. What made it even more horrendous was the fact that it was December the twentieth.

The birthday of one and only Hitsugaya Toshiro.

Some people, mostly young people, found this day something to look forward too.

And the icy captain was young, wasn't he? The difference was, he actually had a million people around him trying to give a gift. Truth be told, if he could, he's lock himself in his office all day.

Which is what he intended to do, until his sake-addicted vice-captain had managed to trick him out of there. Birthday or not, there was paperwork to be done!

Not to mention, every time someone tried to get Hitsugaya to accept the present, he got angrier and angrier. Seireitei had dropped by at least forty degrees that day, though he couldn't tell the difference himself.

After eight awful hours of being bombarded with gifts and other shinigami, some of which had been successful in giving presents (of which the poor white-crowned captain was now collapsing under), Toshiro had managed to pretty close get back to his office.

"H-heeey! C-caaaaptaaaain!" Matsumoto hollered, teeth chattering from the intense cold. Though, there was no reason to shout like that, the large-busted woman was standing right beside him.

The temperature dropped another five degrees as Toshiro growled, "What do you want?!"

"C-captain doesn't sound v-very hap-py!" the strawberry-blonde hiccuped, swaying as she grabbed a hold of the small arm next to her. "C-come! We'll go get a drink!"

_Heeeeell no. She was already drunk. And besides. No, no way, no how._

"Matsumoto, I don't know what the hell you're thinking!" Toshiro spat, his emerald-colored eyes narrowing. "But if you know what's good for you, you'll get your hands off of me!" Yes, he was being colder, meaner (and though he wouldn't say so himself, a bit more like a bitch) to his vice captain than usual, but he was really pissed off at the moment. Don't forget he had a long day already, and still much longer to do.

Nonetheless, the female let go and sauntered off, probably to bug someone else into drinking with her again.

With a sigh of relief, Toshiro let himself into the office. Where, unfortunately, mountains of paperwork waited to be done.

With a scowl, any gifts that had been given to the unfortunate captain (that hadn't been 'accidently' dropped in the slow) was all dropped in the corner. He'd just clean it up later, no sense in even seeing any of it.

Sitting down as he begun the paperwork, he felt something... Missing. No, he had everything he needed, but something felt absent in his mind.

Not his mind, his heart, really. Though he refused to acknowledge it.

Kurosaki hadn't showed up today. And with his usual visits (and Hitsugaya caught the strawberry actually stalking him a few times) it just felt... weird, out of place. But he didn't care.

But the pain in his heart told him otherwise.

It was hard to focus on the sheets of paperwork. Honestly, he didn't know why it was so hard. He didn't care about carrot-head Ichigo.

With a growl, his eyes shifted over to the stacks of paperwork, as if to remind his brain that it needed to be done. But something caught his eye, something totally out of place.

A lavender rose.

Carefully sweeping a few stacks aside, Toshiro curiously looked at the just-budding plant. A few drops of water were on the gentle petals, the stem drinking up water from a small glass vase.

With a white hand, Toshiro almost touched the beautiful, yet small, flower. But he reminded himself that doing so would make it die faster, so he swept vase and all towards him.

It was so beautiful, so gentle, spending a soft aroma.

So that was why Kurosaki hadn't seen him today. He... he had...

This was Ichigo's way of telling the 'ice prince' that he had fallen for him. For someone so smart, the captain had been so blind to how the strawberry felt.

The soft baby cheek, belonging to the young prodigy, slightly caressed a couple of the petals. It felt so wonderful.

And just then, he realized he felt this way towards the stupid substitute, too.

That missing piece was put back in.


	2. Yellow

Second Chapter of this tory. It's supposed to be rather short, or else I'd make this story long.

Now, this is my first Bleach fan fiction, as well as my first shoenen-ai. So, prepare for crap MXM, people, as well as most likely OOC.

Looking for constructive criticism, please.

Disclaimer: Isn't it obvious? If not, all Bleach characters, and plot, belongs to Tite Kubo.

--

Two: Yellow

The yellow rose is a symbol of 'friendship'

--

It had been two days after Hitsugaya's birthday. And still, Kurosaki guessed Toshiro didn't think he was the one that set that rose on his desk. Probably thought it was from Matsumoto, or Hinamori, or someone.

Besides, he was positive the small ice prince hadn't been able to see or sense him in Soul Society that day, so what reason did the little prodigy have to suspect him at all?

Oh yeah, he was a genius. But that was beside the point.

It wasn't his stupid idea to get that goddamn rose in the first place. If the icy captain had figured it out, Toshiro probably thought he was nuts (and was angry), for giving something one would normally give a girl. Roses, tch.

How did he let Rukia talk him into that?

Honestly, it was a stupid, bizarre idea. Who, in their right mind gave flowers to a male? Young or old? Ir was more of a thing one might think of for a girl.

Then again, Kurosaki wasn't always in his right mind, was he?

Though he couldn't, and wouldn't, admit it, he felt unwanted. It was in impact that baby genius left on him. But he guessed it wouldn't work out, anyway. He was a high school student, and a substitute. Not to mention a vaizard. And he... Hitsugaya was a workaholic captain with a zillion pet peeves.

How does that work out in any way possible? Ichigo didn't know.

_Hey, king, ya mind?_ _The weather's all actin' weird in here. _

Hearing Hichigo's voice just made him a lot more agitated. A _lot_ more. And with Toshiro in his mind, that didn't really help.

Toshiro, on the other hand, still didn't know how to act stable about the situation. He didn't want to get rid of the flower (and he didn't), but it had Matsumoto questioning and bugging him to no end.

"Naaaw, Captain you have an admirer!" was what she said the first time she had seen it. And with the gleam in Toshiro's eyes, she knew he knew who it was. "Who is it, Captain?"

It didn't take long for her to figure out, even though Toshiro didn't give a positive or negative answer to any of her guesses. That is, if you didn't call "GET OUT!" negative.

"Well, Captain, why don't you send him a rose back, hmm?"

Was she _kidding?!_ There was no way Hitsugaya Toshiro would _ever_ send a flower to any being in the universe, much less a rose!

It was cute, seeing the icy captain trying to calm himself down so that delicate lavender flower wouldn't freeze over. And Rangiku was surprised he cared for it that much.

"Well then," the strawberry blonde turned around, smirking behind her captains back. "I'll just have to send a rose in your name."

"Don't you dare, Matsumoto! If you do, I'll—"

"Well, how about you do it yourself?"

"Fine, I— wait, what?!" the vice-captain went into hysterics, seeing as she just tricked one Toshiro Hitusgaya. "Alright, I will," the white crowned captain mumbled, sitting down. "But I warn you, Rangiku, if anyone finds out about this—"

"They won't, relax," the lazy vice-captain giggle, waving her hand twice before leaving the office.

"There is no way I'm actually going to do that," he scoffed ocne thed oor was closed.

"Yes, you will!" came a holler in reply.

And she was right, he would, because she was going ot be right there when he did it. And her threat was: "I'll tell everyone that like Kurosaki if you doon't" in a sing-song tone.

So now, here he was, at a florist, looking at different roses. Well, more specifically different colors of roses.

"Oh, captain! You should get him a red one! They're the ones that symbolize LOVE, you know!"

There was no way. No, no, no, and NO.

So, much to Rangiku's dismay, he ended up getting a yellow rose in the end.

And by then, it had already been a whole week that Ichigo had waited for even a hint of a reply.

It was only until he woke up the next morning that he had got what he had hoped for, a sign. Rubbing his eyes, he knew there was a dark shape in the window.

A yellow rose.

So, Toshiro only wanted to be friends for now? Fine, friends it shall be.


	3. Light Pink

After seeing (well, more of being told THEN looking) that I have made a lot of spelling errors (and completely horrifying myself) I hope I made this chapter a lot better.

Looking for constructive criticism, please.

Disclaimer: Get it through your thick head, I do not own Bleach.

--

Three: Light Pink

The Light Pink rose is a symbol of 'sympathy'

--

Time passed both slowly and quickly from that point on. The time of which they became friends, anyway.

Each (secretly) looked forward to the time they spent together, even if the time was woven with endless bickering, quarreling, and bitching. But, in spite of it all, they found similarities and things they both really liked about the other.

Sometimes Toshiro would come to visit Ichigo in the human world, but that was very rare. Mainly due to all the paperwork the workaholic captain got. So, Ichigo would come and bug him while he was doing it all. And, of course Hitsugaya got very ticked off because of this, especially when their argument ended with sheets of paper all over his office.

But, he had to learn to live with it. Sometimes he wished that he never came a rose in response in the first place, but then he'd have half, possibly more, teasing him about liking Kurosaki. And, of course, which would have been his lazy assistance's fault.

And sometimes, more than anything, he treasured this new relationship with the substitute. However, this was only the few times Ichigo wouldn't be annoying.

Times when he could be someone to laugh with, a shoulder to cry on. A moment when he could explain anything and he would just listen, whether he would actually agree on this issue or not. A time when, despite himself, the icy captain could be shameless in calling the teenage boy a friend.

No matter how rare it was, it was a treasure.

Just like how he was being today, but it was with all due respect.

The very captain of the tenth division had taken the time to go to the human world, a rare moment. But not on behalf of the relationship he had with Kurosaki.

He really just needed to be away from Soul Society.

Because, his life-long friend, Hinamori Momo, had finally died. And the tenth division captain really didn't want to go back, because of all the memories that had been left lingering in the air.

She was his sister, his family. The loss hurt, badly, and dug into the icy heart like knives.

Though, 'icy' isn't what one could describe it right now. 'Slush', maybe. Or even water, the strong being had turned fragile. The slightest mention of Momo, or even anything related to her, had him break down.

Though he first wished that even Kurosaki would just leave him alone for a while, he was glad he didn't.

It was silent, but not awkward. A comforting quiet, a type one might want when someone had just died, exactly what he himself wanted.

The two of them, the ice and the strawberry, sat by a rushing river, of which Toshiro's eyes seemed to be totally enamored with. And honestly, the substitute couldn't blame him.

Toshiro was the ice, and ice is the coldest form of the water. It should only feel normal to the Captain to have a natural connection to the element.

"Kurosaki..."

The rarely delicate voice surprised Ichigo slightly. "Hnn?"

"Why did... Why did Momo have to die?" his voice sounded like it was going to break.

The carrot-headed strawberry quickly searched for an answer that would seem comforting. "So that she could begin again, Toshiro. She ended so that her life would start over again. She's been reincarnated, somewhere. And when she dies as a human again, she'll come to Soul Society. Then you two can be reunited."

"You really think so?"

"I don't she why she wouldn't be, she isn't a bad person, so she'd never go to Hell."

Another comforting pause. "I guess you're right," the white haired boy mumbled, looking down at his feet.

A feeling of tranquility settled over the two like a blanket, and warmed them up a bit. Ichigo watched as memories of Hinamori and Hitsugaya together flickered across emerald eyes, bringing pain to the littler one's heart.

"Hey, Toshiro?" the substitute plunked a light pink rose from a bush that was growing conveniently close by, and twirled it in the captain's face.

"Thank you," Toshiro mumbled, accepting the flower. And though he'd deny it if anyone said it, he quietly added on, "...Ichigo..."


	4. Deep Pink

I apologize for two things.

1) That this took almost a month to update.

2) That this chapter might be a bit different, I hit a writers block so I forced this out.

Thanks to everyone that reads this.

--

Four: Deep pink

The deep pink rose is a symbol of 'thanks'

--

In time, the whole of their Seireitei had somehow figured out that Hitsugaya and Kurosaki formed a friendship. Though Toshiro often denied it, while Ichigo would almost boast about it.

All in all, those that believed Kurosaki instead of the captain (which was about ninety-nine and a half percent of the population) knew it really was true, and often chuckled if they saw the carrot-head bugging him.

But Kurosaki was... Different from those in Soul Society. Not because he didn't belong in Soul Society, not because he was a substitute, not because he was human... There was something he couldn't put his finger on.

But that didn't matter. Ichigo believed in Toshiro, and Toshiro believed in him. They trusted each other, and they were friends. That was all that mattered, he was sure. As long as they were friends, Hitsugaya believed he could be happy most of the time.

But showing happiness was a different matter, he wasn't one to display it. But people that knew Toshiro quite well, others like Matsumoto, could tell his mood was a bit brighter than usual. Which was amazing, since Hinamori had died not long ago.

And it was because of Kurosaki Ichigo. Though many knew it wasn't because of the simple friendship they had. They could tell the icy captain had more feelings than friendship towards that substitute.

Though, say it out loud, and you were instantly an ice statue. No mercy.

A friendship that any one being would die for. The two would take a bullet for the other— or in the shinigami case, a sword for the other, since it was most likely Toshiro didn't even know what a gun was, yet alone a bullet.

Toshiro fumbled with his paperwork, unable to concentrate properly, so he was damn glad Matsumoto wasn't here. It was near impossible to do anything with her around, even if she wasn't drunk and he was already distracted.

His brain just wouldn't compute with his hand, and he found himself staring at the same piece of paper. But, he didn't realize it— he had fallen into a trace.

"Oi, captain, what's so fascinating about that piece of paper there, huh?" the strawberry blonde asked, yanking it away to examine it herself.

"Matsumoto!" Toshiro jumped in surprise. "When did you get here?!"

"About fifteen minutes ago. You've been staring at this sheet for the past fifteen minutes." No way! That long? "What have you been thinking about?" a sly smile formed behind the paper, now covering how mouth. "Kur-o-sak-i?"

"Matsumoto!" the temperature just dropped about five degrees.

"I get it," the lazy vice-captain sighed, throwing the sheet behind her. "You're no fun, captain."

Toshiro rolled his aqua eyes, walking over to get the paperwork because he knows Rangiku definitely wouldn't. "Could you leave, Matsumoto? I have a lot of paperwork to get done."

"That you just want to stare at?" that gave her a well-deserved glare. "What have you really been thinking about?"

"..." No answer, Hitsugaya just resumed his paperwork like nothing had happened.

"What will the others think of you when I tell them that you've been thinknig of Ichigo without anything on.

"Matsumoto, enough!" the normally pale face flushed red with anger.

_Bingo_

"Then why not tell me what's going on? Unless you'd like the rest of Soul Society to know—"

"MATSUMOTO." that got her to shut up.

"..." with a shrug, the strawberry blonde headed for the door.

"Wait."

"Hmm?"

"It's just that..." Toshiro sighed. "Kurosaki has been a really good friend to me," Rangiku was surprised that he was speaking so softly, how unlikely of him, "probably the best since you and Hinamori..." how sweet, her captain had just called her a good friend. "And I'm not sure that dumb head is smart enough to realize it."

"Of course he's not smart enough," the large-chested vice-captain chuckled, "that's why you tell him."

Raising an eyebrow, Toshiro asked, "Will he be smart enough to understand me telling him?"

"You just don't want to tell him, do you?"

"How do you tell someone like THAT?!"

"..." Matsumoto thought for a moment. "Point taken, BUT..." there was a long pause. "Naww damn, I totally forgot."

Toshiro's eye had a short spasm. "Matsumoto...! How much did you drink before coming up here?!" the icy captain no longer thought it was a rare time where she wasn't drunk.

And the fact that she just turned away from him and giggled furthered that.

"Well, what about your and Kurosaki's little 'tradition'?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" figuring that she was no longer any help, Hitsugaya went back to his paperwork.

"Don't pretend like you don't know,"the alcoholic woman replied, slumping down on the couch.

"Why would I pretend anything, Matsumoto?" he had a point.

"The whole roses thing, captain. You know, what Kurosaki started."

Toshiro paused. "...I believe I already did a rose for friendship,"

"Then do it for something else, captain!"

"Like what?"

"I dunno, think about what each color means."

"Do I look like I have time to do that right now, Matsumoto?" Toshiro gestured at the large stack of paperwork.

Which caused her to prance right over, and nab the stack. "Now you do,"

"Put. It. Back," Toshiro hissed, giving her a death glare.

"Not until you thi-ink!"

"MATSUMOTO!" the temperature went down ten degrees.

The strawberry blonde rolled her eyes. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Use the rose of 'thanks'," he huffed, setting all the paperwork down."

"Which is what one?"

"You tell me!"

"Do you think I remember every single one, Matsumoto?"

"Well, it's not like I can remember them all, either," Rangiku giggled, and bounce out of the office.

Toshiro scowled. Sometimes she could really get on his nerves.

But nonetheless, he placed the correct rose on Ichigo's bedside table that evening.

And the orange haired teen woke to a deep pink color the next morning.


	5. White

Again, not the quickest update, but at least it wasn't another month. I thank all of you that care to read this, and even more to those who review. You keep me writing on.

Surprisingly, this chapter was so much easier to write than the last.

And I hope that I've kept typos to a minimum.

Disclaimer: Matsumoto, Hitsugaya and Kurosaki all belong to Tite Kubo, along with Soul Society and the rest of Bleach.

--

Five: White

The what rose symbolizes purity and innocence

--

Tapping the end of his pencil against the paper, Kurosaki sighed in annoyance. He couldn't focus on the math homework in font of him, as much as he wished to get it done. When he looked at the paper, he more of stared blankly, looking at little designs in the numbers.

Some of them were pictures, some of them patterns, some of them just a shape that made no sense. But the designs were there every time he just glanced at the damn sheet.

Ichigo decided that homework would be an enjoyable thing for Toshiro, by the way he was so addicted to his paperwork.

Speaking of Hitsugaya, Ichigo couldn't get his mind off of the little prodigy for the past week. He supposed part of it was all the homework, since that could o easily relate to paperwork in Soul Society... In his opinion, anyway.

But the other part was that rose. The same damn rose that had died yesterday, and he was so reluctant to throw it out. Since when had goddamn FLOWERS become important in someone's life? A male's, no less. And his especially. Kick-ass substitute shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo.

Honestly, never in his life would had he ever thought that such a beautiful, feminine thing of nature would play a role in his life. Never.

And yet, here it was, helping him contact Toshiro's, and his own, feelings. He really didn't like it, in one way. In another, he felt really grateful.

Which made him feel like a sexually confused lovesick female teenager.

He mentally hit himself has he realized he had doodled all over the page, struggling for an eraser. And then literally hit himself when he remembered he had left it downstairs.

With a sigh of frustration, the carrot-headed strawberry made he way downstairs, alert incase of any surprise Isshin attacks. And of course, he just HAD to be in the living room, too, didn't he?

"Iwasn'there!" the substitute yelled in one quick breath, dashing in, grabbing the eraser, and making a beeline back to his room so fast it was like he wasn't even out of there, in the first place.

Biting his lip, the orange-haired teen had the urge to erase as hard as he could, but he actually knew better. He didn't want to have to go through another episode of making excuses as to why his homework was ripped.

His sheet now throughly smudged, but a lot more suitable than nonsense doodles.

Relief flooded his body as he could finally make sense of the questions, and began to answer them. Even if he would get them wrong, he's have the work _done._ Always a good thing.

He hadn't realized that he had grabbed a blank sheet of paper until later, when he had looked down at it.

He had doodled. AGAIN.

The only relief was that, even as simple scribbles (most of them were, anyway), they were infinitely better than Rukia's drawing.

Biting his tongue out of frustration (because he REALLY needed that homework done, he left it off until last minute, but blame hollow attacks for that) he half-closed his chestnut eyes, looking down at the paper.

Of course, the thing he drew just HAD to be a flower, of all the fucking things in the world!

He hit his head against the desk, hard, figuring he'd regret it later.

What was also worse was that his father had caught wind of this whole 'rose' thing going on, and now took random guesses at who the mystery person was. You wouldn't believe how many times he had suspected Orihime. It was driving him nuts, the way he sent out a volley of names (a good third of them being Inoue's) every time he had him trapped in a room.

Would the torture ever end?

Two days later in Soul Society:

"Captaaaaiiiin!" Gritting his teeth, Hitsugaya scowled at the voice of his vice-captain. What did Rangiku want this time?

"What, Matsumoto?" the tenth division captain asked, not even bothering to eye her from his paperwork.

"Look away from your paperwork for a second..."

_Say what now?!_

"I don't have a reason to, Matsumoto," the white-haired 'child' stated so coldly that it could make hell freeze over.

Unfortunately, she wasn't fazed in the least. "Well _I _think you do."

"And _I _think I _don't_." Toshiro hissed.

"But what about this thing here that Kurosaki left behind, hm? He told me to give it to you, but I guess you don't want it."

A white eyebrow was raised. "What is it, Matsumoto?"

"Forget it, Captain, you don't seem to want it,"

"Matsumoto..." Toshiro growled in warning.

"Yes?" she asked innocently, almost sweetly.

"Give it."

"But you don't want it."

"I never really _said_ that, did I, Matsumoto?!" his pupils narrowed, icicles beginning to grow on the ceiling.

"Now, now, captain! You'll hurt the poor thing! Flowers don't thrive in cold weather, don't you know?" Toshiro flinched as Rangiku gently, but forcefully, shoved the rose into his hand. The thorns will still there, didn't the strawberry-blonde knew those point _hurt?!_

Closing an aqua eye, the short captain watched as a thorn drew blood from a finger, and trickles down the stem, the crimson color contrasting against the green.

And a droplet fell to a paper below.

"You can go now, Matsumoto," he stated, clear as day.

"But—"

"_NOW_." his voice had become loud, but firm.

"Okay, okay, Captain," was the last thing she said, before giggling and leaving. Half the reason for the short laugh was because she eyed the ice beginning to melt.

_I guess perhaps it's more or less a sign that Kurosaki is melting the ice around Captain's heart. After all, he's been a lot warmer around those flowers, and a bit around Kurosaki, though they don't see each other that often._

_It's like they have a little exchange thing going on, but neither are very aware of it. _

_But they're still going awful slow, maybe I could help them a little? _Rangiku chuckled at the thought.


	6. Red

Not my best and longest writing, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. I couldn't make this chapter come out any better, sadly.

--

Six: Red

If it wasn't obvious, the red rose means romance and love

--

"You look bored," Matsumoto stated, taking a swig at her sake from the couch she was sitting on. And indeed, Hitsugaya DID look bored, staring down at the paperwork like that. "Maybe you ssshhhould..." being semi-drunk and all, Matsumoto was slurring with her 'sh' sounds, and forgot half of what shje was supposed to say. "Uhm..."

"Maybe I should what, Matsumoto!?" Toshiro raised an unamused, irritated eyebrow, eye twitching.

"...Take a break," she managed to finish.

"Maybe you should get your drunk self out of my office, Matsumoto! I have work to do!"

"Why are you bored?" the strawberry-blonde changed the topic back.

"...Paperwork's almost done..." the captain muttered.

"And that'ssssh'a bad thing?" her brain didn't seem to process that he said there was work to be done, but that it was almost done, anyway.

"When there's nothing else to do..." aquamarine eyes wandered away.

"You sshhould have more fun sometimes, captain."

"I don't know the word," the white-haired prodigy joked, but in a very irritated tone.

"Sssshhhhure ya do! Here's an idea: Go visit Kurosaki!"

Hitsugaya choked on the green tea he was drinking, and fell down.

"Capntain...!? Are you alright?!" she seemed to sober up a bit.

"Fine..." he sputtered, trying to reposition himself.

"That'shh good..." back into more of a drunken state.

"I'm not going to go visit Kurosaki, Matsumoto."

"Why not? He **is **your boyfriend, after all."

The genius's face turned red, both from anger and embarrassment. "Matsumoto, enough! He is _not_ my boyfriend, Kurosaki and I are _not_ lovers!"

"Yet you send each other flowershh?" she grinned.

"There's a difference between friendship and a loving relationship, Matsumoto."

"Ssssho you finally admit he'sh your friend?"

"..." Toshiro's mouth had opened to retort back, back he couldn't. Rangiku was right, he **had** just called Kurosaki his friend _out loud._

Well _damn._

"It'shh nothing to be asshhamed of, captain. Bessshhides, it'll make li'l Orihime jealoush, will it not?"

"What does that have to do with anything?!"

The vice captain shrugged. "Just something to be said."

"Get out."

"Wha?"

"Now. I want to finish this work," the temperature dropped.

But Rangiku didn't even flinch. "Come on, captain, you have to relax every once and a while..."

"Make once and a while every seventy-five years or so, okay? Now get!"

Even Rangiku, who was now getting used to this coldness, had a shiver running down her spine from the temperature dropping that followed.

Even drunk, the large-chested woman had enough common sense to not get turned into an ice statue for eternity.

And she left, accompanied by a sigh of regret and defeat. It sort of pained her. Toshiro was grouchy, then he was nice... There was only two explanations that she could think of for that.

One, his love for Kurosaki was somehow driving him insane.

Two, the midget kid was finally starting to hit puberty.

As beautiful and attractive Rangiku knew Toshiro would transform into, she hoped it wasn't the latter. Since she knew Hitsugaya DID love Ichigo, and a puberty-hit Toshiro wouldn't be good news when he was angry.

Oh well, it wasn't good news, even now, anyway.

Since when is ANYONE getting angry good news? Unless, of course, you were aiming for it.

Back on topic.

Well, if Toshiro didn't want to tell the strawberry how he felt himself, she'd do it for him!

But how to make it believable...?

She thought hard. It was amazing that she could when she was drunk. Hell, it was amazing she could when she was sober! But whatever.

They had that whole 'roses' deal going on at the moment, didn't they? Well, then, it was simple!

Now, if she could only remember which rose was romance...

Oh well. Drink now, do later.

Little did she know that she was about to make a big mistake.


	7. Orange

First of all, I'm really sorry that: One, this took so long to get up Two, it's so incredibly short, too. For one, the computer i originally had it on busted a while back. And now, I'll be honest; I had started too many of my own projects AND I was lazy. But I'm on my spring break now, I figured I HAD to get it done. Plus, I hate it when authors don't finish their stories. I didn't want to be like that and be a hypocrite. And, I'll admit, the ending was very rushed. Mostly because it was two in the morning when I finished it. I'm really sorry if it disappoints you. --- Seven: Orange

The orange rose is to represent desire (to know someone better)

--

Life was dragging. Dragging on, and on, and on. Every minute felt like a year and a half to the orange haired teenager. And over time, it just felt, well, normal. Life going on slower than it should just felt normal, end of story.

But one question continued to linger in his mind, taunting him, teasing him, manipulating the vizard.

That question was, 'why?'

Why had Toshiro suddenly cut everything off from him? Not long ago, though it felt VERY long ago. There was a phone call from the young captain, which to put it bluntly, told him to fuck off and that he never wanted to see him again.

And without his chance to ask why, things were cut off, completely and totally. He had been trying until five in the morning with phonecalls, not one getting picked up.

It pissed him off a lot when he woke up and realized that he fell asleep making a call, and there wasn't a message from his white ex-friend. It wasn't a pretty sight, let's just say getting a new phone and new couch were needed to be bought as the outcome.

Renji, Chad, Orihime, none of his friends could sidetrack him from the pain in his heart. After realizing this, they kept their distance. Not because they disliked him, but because he needed to be alone.

After a day or two, he had taken to his bed. Not eating, not moving, only sleeping. No one could seem to get him out, even his dad when he tried to yank him out.

Oh why, Toshiro? Why?

"Who is Toshiro?" Yuzu asked innocently from the doorway. Ichigo mentally slapped himself when he had realized he had said the question out loud. Could he get _any _stupider? Honestly. When his little sister didn't get a reply, she ran off to ask her dad.

Great. Just bloody fucking great.

To avoid talking to his father, Ichigo headed for the window and crawled out of it. Crawled, because he didn't have the energy to properly climb or even walk without slouching. Guess that's what comes from not eating.

Now that he was out of his room, he realized how hungry he just really was. He dug into both of his pockets. No change. Damn.

For once, Orihime's cooking _actually sounded appetizing. _Then again, any starving man wouldn't care. And he had been starving himself, kind of. Still, her food seemed just about as healthy as rat poisoning.

His choices were to go to Orihime, or to rob somebody, neither of which seemed like friendly, lovely options that he'd enjoy skipping in a field of flowers with. In the end, going to Orihime seemed like the better option. Mugging someone didn't seem like him.

Even if the cooking would make him barf.

Of course, what he didn't count on was running into Matsumoto and, easy it was to guess, Toshiro there.

Now he really wanted to barf; from nervousness, that is.

Unsurprisingly, they stayed at opposite spots of the house the whole time. Both of them staring out windows, and neither Orihime or Rangiku could get either to talk, move, or even blink. So the girls left them alone.

Ichigo's bored hands had started rummaging through nearby drawers of their own free will. He didn't even notice, so he couldn't stop them. It wasn't until he realized what he was holding that he even knew about it.

"...She's got window markers?" not only were they childish, but what would she really need them for? Oh well. Feeling bored to the point where he would faint, he just doodled on the windows without his friend's permission. Besides, he'd wash it off later.

You know, after he got back from using the bathroom.

Toshiro turned around, mildly curious to what the squeak-squeak-squeaking had all been about (not that he'd say it out loud, of course).

There was a long pause. ".....Orange roses? How original, Kurosaki," he scowled, but in same cases, that from him was as good as a smile.


	8. Pink

I really have to thank everyone that has read, watched, and/or short this short, good-for-nothing fan fiction so far. It means a lot.

How would you like it if I made more a more novelistic version of Roses, or is that idea disliked?

Edit: I accidentally went to write another chapter, but them I realized I messed things up and it went more with this chapter. So instead of deleting it, I'm just adding to this one and calling it a day.  
Oh, and please vote on my poll to tell me what Bleach fan fiction idea I should work on next (if you, of course, plan on reading the next one).

* * *

Eight: Pink

The (regular) pink rose is a symbol of happiness.

* * *

Life was good. Well, better.

Despite the upcoming war and the captain troubles (along with Ichigo's human life), the substitute and tenth division captain always found a way to make room for each other.

Toshiro often pulled all-nighters to get the paperwork done just to see Ichigo in the morning, regardless that he was as grumpy as a tired grandfather whenever that happened. Ichigo was a lot friendlier after staying up than Toshiro, but could still be pretty bad at times.

Nonetheless, all of the time the two shinigami spent together was enjoyed, just by the other being there. These were hard times, and the comfort one got from the other was appreciated and needed. Although neither of the two admitted that.

Ichigo, wanting to be helpful for once, had tried to help arrange some plans for the Winter War with Toshiro. Of course, the only thing that came from it was an angry Toshiro and a huge mess of papers on the floor. He really wasn't captain material– at least not in parts of brains. That would be something he'd have to work on.

Things didn't go so well after that. Ichigo was under the impression Toshiro was always irritated because of that, and Toshiro was under the impression that Ichigo didn't really like him anymore because of his easy-to-irritate attitude that made him snap. Conversation was little afterwards, and very awkward. Eventually, Ichigo's visits became less frequent.

It wasn't verbalized, but it made Toshiro very worried. Rangiku could tell, he was edgier and more temperamental. She had rarely seen him throw things at the wall out of frustration before, yet alone something delicate that shattered into a few dozen pieces. No matter what, he was always easier to irritate and angry. The white-haired captain also never get any sleep and never focussed on the paperwork that he always tried to get done first thing.

No one that knew the prodigy was oblivious to his worsened behaviour. If they couldn't tell as soon they entered whatever unfortunate room Toshiro was in that had turned into a freezer room, the look on his face was more than plenty enough to say how foul in a mood he was constantly in.

Ichigo Kurosaki himself wasn't an exception to his behaviour, which didn't exactly bowl over smoothly. During the first visit, he ignored it. The next couple of times, he tried to set it aside. Of course, Ichigo wasn't once whose patience was always great. The relationship possibly completely failed when Toshiro finally snapped and Ichigo left in a fury.

Matsumoto knew it wasn't a good sign when she came to Toshiro's office that was cased in ice from the outside, and had to break down the door to get in. She had never seen him like this before, ever.

Because of the way the young captain had been before, his lieutenant never thought she'd see the day he refused to even get out of bed. Even after being there for over ten hours, his looked very tired from stress with small, blackish circles starting to form under his eyes.

This had turned into a serious problem. Rangiku tried to reason with herself that Toshiro had never experienced real heartache before, and that this was his way of dealing with it for the first time. She'd like to believe that (she herself had to get over Gin), but people were supposed to get better as time went on, not worse. Of course, she drew the line when he even refused to eat.

For the very first time, she began to wonder how her captain could be saved from inner turmoil. He at least got by when Momo got sick, but now...

This was different. Sure, Toshiro had loved Momo, but he wasn't IN love with Momo. It was impossible for her to amount to him the same way Ichigo ever had.

Now, she'd have to figure something out. If they saw each other, Ichigo could get mad all over again, and Toshiro would probably hate Ichigo seeing him in such a state. So how–

And then it hit her. Kido came in handy in more than one way.

Later, Toshiro looked up from the bed he had been laying on his belly. Not irritably, not tiredly, just plain dully, big black circles under his face clear as day. He watched for a moment as his assistant entered the room, and then went back to his usual position.

"Toshiro," she said with a smile, shaking his shoulder. He was so out of it, he didn't really care that she was calling him so... Informally. "Toshiro," her voice was soft, "I have an idea." That had gotten his attention, slightly. "All you need to do it put this on," she held a white outfit up, "and eat this later. I'll do the rest."

The white haired captain watched as she left, before staring down at what she had been placed in his hand. A small, what tablet, that had been ground together with herbs. He could tell from the smell. Too out of it to question himself, he took off his other clothing and put what she had given him on.

He had sat back down properly for the first time in days, and just stared at the wall for a while. A long while. Hours, even. It took him a while to remember the tablet he had gotten from Matsumoto, and when he did, just swallowed the thing whole. Gently, he laid down to catch up on sleep he hadn't had for over a week.

He blinked awake as he found himself, standing, in a vast empty room. He was in the outfit (a white dress, he'd kill Matsumoto when he felt motivated again), and his hands hurt. He looked down it find a pink rose nestled, semi-tightly, in between them.

Space distorted, and he watched as Ichigo appeared. In his pajamas, no less. That's when it hit him, Matsumoto had used a dream Kido. He had heard of it, but didn't know for sure it had actually existed.

Without a word, the two walked towards each other in a sort of understanding, joining at the hand. Toshiro stuck the rose in his mouth delicately as they began a slow waltz. Toshiro allowed the rose slip between his dance partner's teeth instead, and whispered, "Thank you for making me happy.. Ichigo.."

* * *

  
The winter war was near. So near that all of the shinigami, including often clueless Ichigo Kurosaki could feel an ominous loom just around the corner.

"Toshiro, do you feel trapped?" Ichigo asked out of the blue one day.

"Huh?" the white-haired captain was caught off guard, looking up from his paper work, eyes looking mildly surprised. Head down, he went back to his work. "No, why do you ask that?"

"Well, you have to do this paperwork all of the time, and you're forced to be in this war because of what you are and your position. Doesn't that make you uneasy?"

"No," he replied once more, wondering why he was asking such a strange question. "I do it all of my free will, Ichigo."

"Why, though? What business is it of yours?"

"Even if I didn't feel obligated to Matsumoto and my division, I still wish to see Aizen's defeat," he spoke like it was obvious, looking a little annoyed. Oh yes, Ichigo had forgotten; Momo had been his childhood friend, so defeating Aizen must've seemed like a goal for him, though it was probably going to be Yamamoto that took him down in the end.

Ichigo didn't reply, looking at the ceiling in a bored fashion. "You can leave if you want," Toshiro finally said after a long, stressing silence.

"It's fine."

"I have a lot of paperwork to do; I'll be done faster if you leave, and you won't be bored. Go." Ichigo blinked for a second, then grinned a little with understanding.

"Alright, but if I go we do what I want to do, okay?" he asked, sitting up from his slouched position on the couch.  
"Yeah, sure," Toshiro waved him off, making a small shooing motion with his hands. "I'll come find you when I'm done."

Ichigo had no doubts of where to go in the meantime; Rukia was a great friend, but visiting Renji topped that. They could do more "manly" stuff together. You know, such as getting drunk and not allowing Rukia to pester them for it.

He joined up Renji shortly, catching up on each other's lives. He felt ashamed after learning Renji and Byakuya were engaged (much to the dismay to the Kuchiki elders) for a while and not knowing, but that washed away after a while of mildly insulting each other, sparring and a little bit of drinking (but not enough to get the either of them drunk).

Admittedly, Ichigo liked spending time with Renji. He loved Toshiro, but Renji was his best friend in this world, so it was easier to talk to him about certain things. But he'd never have the feelings for Renji that he had for Toshiro.

And that was fine. Renji didn't want Ichigo, Ichigo didn't want him. Their love lives were completely separate from one another. Even if they weren't, was Toshiro and Byakuya the type to get jealous over tiny feelings or accidental intimacy from drinking? Probably not.

Toshiro rejoined Ichigo a few hours later, looking a little worn out and irritable from so much paperwork, but smiled slightly when Ichigo approached, anyway. Being in love could do that to you.

"Remember our deal?" he asked, wrapping his arm around Toshiro in a protective half-hug.

Toshiro rolled his eyes and nodded. How predictable it was of Ichigo to bring that up right away. "Yeah, I do. Where are we going then?"

"To the human world, of course. I have a few places I'd like to show you."

The first place was a spot that Toshiro enjoyed very much, and Ichigo knew he would. Since the young captain's zanpakuto had an ice-element theme, he had to appreciate water very much, and took him to the ocean, even though it was pretty darn cold. The stayed there for a while, Toshiro not saying a word as they stared off into the seemingly endless waters.

All in all, Toshiro couldn't say it wasn't enjoyable. In fact, it was one of the more better things he had seen in a long, long time.

"I knew you'd like it here," Ichigo said triumphantly, after over an hour of silence between the two, with the only nosie being the icy waves crashing over the shore.

"It's really wonderful here," somehow, Toshiro finally knew what he was missing by devoting his very being into his work. And it wasn't just this place, it was the peaceful time spent with Ichigo. Why hadn't he agreed to this before?  
"We should come here in the summertime," he suggested, arm around his lover's shoulders.

"No," Toshiro shook his head. "I don't-"

"Like the heat," Ichigo finished. "Sorry, I forgot."

"It's... Fine."

"If you say so," Ichigo replied warily, standing up. When Toshiro didn't seem to notice, he grabbed his hand and hauled him to his feet.

"What are you doing!" Toshiro snapped, rubbing his wrist a little.

"Sorry, but the way you were out of it I could have yelled into your ear and you wouldn't have heard me." The little genius opened his mouth to reply, but it was closed by Ichigo's hand. "Just come with me."

Toshiro was taken through the few centimetres of snow for a while until they reached what looked like a cottage. An abandoned one, of course, because Ichigo's family didn't have one to buy themselves. At was also easy to tell, since a part of it was crumbling.

"What are we doing in here?" Toshiro asked, looking just the tiniest bit annoyed by the small mess in the room.

"You can get a better view from the upstairs," Ichigo replied, grabbing the captain's thin wrist and dragging him up the creaking steps.

And Ichigo wasn't lying, you could see further out to sea, which Toshiro particularly enjoyed.

"Toshiro, I'm glad I get to spend time with you. I'm.. Really happy when I'm with you," Toshiro could feel a rose bud being placed inside his resting palm.

"Yeah... Me too."


	9. Blue

Okay, here's a short one for you. Honestly, I'm getting tired of writing this. But I'll finish with only two chapters left.

Also, if you plan on reading my future fan fictions, please vote on my poll as to which Bleach fan fiction idea I should work on after I finish this.

And I'd like to thank all my readers, reviewers, and subscribers.

* * *

Nine: Blue

The blue rose represents mystery, attaining the impossible, and rarity.

* * *

"Toshiro, what do you think we can gain from this?" Ichigo asked, watching as Toshiro wrote vigorously onto the paper in incredibly tiny printing, already with a few dozen pages on the side.

"I don't know," he grumbled in reply, not even looking up from the paper he was writing of for a few milliseconds.

Ichigo opened his tired eyes halfway, and continued with another, "You don't even know what I' talking about, do you?"

"Nope," came the blunt reply from the captains lips, as he continued to scribble down words one after another, almost like he was desperate to fill the page.

"What are you writing up, anyway? I don't think I've seen anything longer that someone so young as you has written."

Glaring for a couple seconds, Toshiro replied, "A yearly report. We have to include almost every major thing that happened, our funds, our members or losses, and so on."

"Boring," Ichigo had decided that before Toshiro had even replied. Anything that involved writing was instantly boring to Ichigo, anyway. He did enough for schoolwork, and that cramped his hand up a little too much.

"It has to be done," came the reply from the white-haired captain back into writing in such small print. Ichigo scoffed a little, but before he could speak, Toshiro added, "And you realize, if you ever become a captain you will have to do the same thing."

That was something that had never really dawned on Ichigo. He was strong enough to be a captain, and he knew it, but, to do paperwork all of the time?

As Ichigo opened his mouth to speak, Toshiro also added, "And leaving it all to your lieutenant won't go over well. Even if he or she agrees to do all of it no one will be so willing to help you through all of it day after day."

Ichigo pouted in defeat. Somehow, Toshiro had been able to figure out exactly what he had been thinking, which was, in a way, slightly annoying.

"You plan on leaving so I can get this done?" Toshiro raised an eyebrow, looking at his sometimes-nuisance of a lover.

"Nope. You know I feel better with you around so I'm not going anywhere. Besides, if I left you alone every time you worked, we'd see each other for an hour a day."

"Over-exaggerating, Ichigo."

"Okay, fine a few hours! You know what my point was, anyway."

"Yeah, I did," Toshiro admitted, trying to look agitated and he continued to write. In all reality, he was actually quite glad that Ichigo refused to leave. Without him, things were quiet and for the first time, he was starting to feel lonely when others weren't around, Ichigo specifically. He did sometimes wonder if that was natural, but the only person there was to ask for advice on this subject was Matsumoto, and he wouldn't go to her for such advice if the world was about to explode if he didn't.

"Still.... Do you think we can gain something from this?" Ichigo asked once more, hoping his efforts would prove a little more fruitful than the first time he had asked.

"And what is the 'this' you keep asking about?" Toshiro asked, moving on to write yet another page.

"This whole ordeal. The Winter War. The preparing of it, the losses, the blood, all of that suff. Do you think we'll gain anything from it?"

"Temporary peace, as best. But that's the best we can do, we should help the innocents while we can. Trying to settle all that opposes Soul Society once and for is clearly impossible."

"I disagree," Ichigo sighed. "I have to tell ya, it's actually possible to acquire the impossible."

"And how would you know?"

Ichigo flicked a blue rose onto the captain's desk, "'Cause I already have." Toshiro couldn't help but smile a little.


	10. Black

There we go, another shortie. And the second last bit of it, too. Well then, lets see if I can get it done tomorrow on Wedndesday and be done with it.

And thank you to everyone that has read, reviewed, and subscribed to this story.

* * *

Ten: Black

The black rose is the symbol of death.

* * *

_Toshiro watched as Renji cut his way through the last opposing one. The white sands were stained with blood, and any arrancar or hollow still standing that valued his or her life fled. Aizen had been beheaded, and the shinigami had one, after many terrible losses._

_As much as he wanted to go off looking for Ichigo, Toshiro knew he couldn't. There were too many dead and wounded to be tended to, and the least everyone else that wasn't the fourth division could do was safely transport the wounded to help or carry the corpses back for a proper burial._

_Yes, and it was a good thing, too. Because of the efforts of those who hadn't been wounded too harshly, another couple hundred shinigami had been spared._

_Sure he'd see Ichigo soon, Toshiro had a long rest after that exhausting, terrible battle._

_As he awoke the next day, he called Matsumoto into his office at the absence of Ichigo. "Is he hurt? Or back at home?" Ichigo was strong, there was no way he could have died. Hye was stronger than Renji, and didn't fight Aizen himself. If anyone could survive such a battle, it was Ichigo._

"_Toshiro, I... He was one of the ones that came up on the missing list..." she had told him regretfully, looking completely serious._

"_He... He what!" Toshiro was whispering and yelling at the same time. No, it wasn't true... Ichigo had to be okay... But his Lieutenant's face was so serious..._

Even without a body, Toshiro had insisted that he make a grave for Ichigo, along with the other couple hundred that were probably not going to be seen ever again. Black, polished stone that stood higher than Toshiro did had Ichigo's name engraved in it, along with his many great accomplishments and how he had fought so valiantly in the Winter War.

He'd never meet another person like Ichigo.

He had been sitting under his grave, wordlessly, for many long hours. It was the only comfort he had left of a loved one, though it wasn't much at all.

"Captain," Matsumoto walked up from the path in the graveyard. "You've been sitting here for over a day, you know." She got no reply; Toshiro didn't have much intent on talking to anyone. She knew that was the case, so she walked over and sat down beside him.

Minutes passed without the captain and his lieutenant speaking to one another. "Ichigo was a great man... And your first and maybe even last lover. No wonder you miss him so much."

Toshiro ran his fingers along the dirt in front of the redhead's grave, where black roses had grown and were now in full bloom. "I... Yeah...." he couldn't get out much more than that. "Why'd he have to die, too?"

"I don't know if he really is dead, Captain."

"If he wasn't, he'd be here and without a grave." There was nothing Matsumoto could say to make him feel better, was there?

"Captain.. Come back and let's have a toast to those who have died, and give a special one to Ichigo. I'll get Yumich-" she stopped, "I'll get Ikkaku and Renji, too." Yumechika was yet another unfortunate loss during the war.

Toshiro opened his mouth to say 'I don't drink,' but he closed it and something compelled him to nod. "Yeah.. For Ichigo.."

The two of them got up from the graveyard, leaving the dark place filled with black tombstones, leaving the black gates where vines of black roses climbed up them like ivy. For this reason, and because the last hour of the Winter War was dubbed the "Black Hour," it had been appropriately named the "Black Graveyard."

And for him, it would also be black, just because it symbolized Ichigo was dead.

Just as Matsumoto had promised, she had brought along Ikkaku and Renji, the both of them looking rather glum. Ikkaku had lost Yumechika, his own lover, and Renji had lost Rukia, who had been like a sister to him when they were younger and still was a very good friend to him.

Everyone was riddled with the loss of someone or another. Very few shinigami were going to make a full recovery, while many will be rather handicapped for as long as they remained here.

Each Matsumoto, Ikkaku, and Renji were able to say their toasts successfully, some with a few tears running down their faces, but Toshiro completely broke down, saying something about 'I'll do it another time,' and ran off to the Black Graveyard.


	11. The Bouquet

* * *

Eleven: The Bouquet

A bouquet of red and white roses are a symbol of unity.

* * *

Toshiro couldn't revert back to who he was before. He was probably worse than he ever was, being colder, more discreet, and more irritable than ever before. No one, not even Matsumoto, could soften him up.

And that wasn't the only problem n itself. To Matsumoto, it told her that Toshiro had not yet moved on, and didn't seem to have any intention to, either. They relationship had been close, yes, but it had been two whole years already, and Toshiro hadn't let it go a bit. One could tell from the tears behind his eyes, taking glances to something under his desk, the dead roses in the corner of the rom, how often he continued to visit the Black Graveyard.

"I wonder if he fully accepts it," Matsumoto said to Renji one day, before taking a shot of sake from the counter in front of her.

"Huh? Accepts what?"

"You know, that Ichigo is dead..."

"Oh, yeah, that..." he mumbled, strumming his fingers along the counter. "Probably not, if he could, he'd be able to move on, at least. I mean, everyone that loses a lover in death is sad forever, but the ones that accept it can move on.."

Matsumoto nodded, pouring herself another shot and taking it immediately. "I don't know if he ever will, and that's a problem..."

"Yeah. He is acting like a bit of a brat, though, acting he is the only one with a loss out of this whole war. We lost thousands, everyone was effected one way or another, and some are still cheerful. Look at Yachiru; she lost Kenpachi and she's captain now, but she's as cheerful as ever."

"Yes, but what can we do to help Toshiro get over this? Nothing. He's just in that realm where no one could help him. Ichigo could, if he was alive, but he isn't. That's the biggest problem," and she drank down once more for the night.

It wasn't two days later when the same strawberry blonde bounced into her captain's office, and couldn't have been in a better mood. "Toshiro, Toshiro! Come quick!"

Her reply was the evil eye, but she hadn't planned on waiting, anyway. In one swift movement, Matsumto had picked Toshiro up, slung him over her shoulder, and had shunpoed out of the door.

Despite many cold threats to freeze Matsumoto, she wouldn't drop him no matter what he said or did. After a while, he gave up, and wasn't very happy about it.

"What are we going here?" he asked when she eventually dropped him at the gates of the Black Graveyard.

"You planned on coming here anyway, didn't you?"

"Later," he grumbled, turning around so he could leave. However, his lieutenant his grabbed his collar and pulled him inside the gate.

"Go say hi to your lover, captain," she pushed him up the hill. And sure enough there at the top was Kurosaki Ichigo, looking at his own grave, puzzled. Toshiro rubbed his eyes, Ichigo was still there. He pinched his side, and it hurt. This wasn't a piece of his own mind; Ichigo was really there.

He hadn't even realized that he was at the top of the hill until his arms were flung around Ichigo, tears that had been built up over the two years springing to his eyes. And like he had dreamed about so many times, Ichigo was there embracing him back.

"Sorry I didn't get a chance to come back sooner, Toshiro," Ichigo apologized, stroking the white hair beneath him, one hand clutching a bouquet of red and white roses which was received by the captain's arms.

"It's fine," he was crying silently now. "Just don't you leave me again."

* * *

There, done with a happy ending, yuck. Hah, I'm a sucker for sad endings, so it was a little painful to write this.

Anyway, it's all done.

That you to all of my readers, reviewers, and those that subscribed to this story. It's done.


End file.
